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Thursday 15 February, 2018
In my final session with Firewatch today I began to really discover the moral dilema within the game. The beginning of the game is designed to give you that empathy and sense of loss that Henry has experienced with the eventual loss of his wife to early onset dementia/Alzheimer's, and then introduces Delilah as a possible relief to that pain. The game wants you to decide whether you are going to keep interacting with Delilah, keep moving along the path that will bring you closer with her, or if you are going to stay with Julia. The discovery of the man taking all of the notes of their conversation, as well as the events and news behind the disappearance of the two teenagers, hint that there is something going on that perhaps Delilah is aware of and doesn't tell Henry. Earlier on, Delilah makes a radio call out to someone else, perhaps hinting that she knows whoever this person listening to them is. I don't know whether I should trust her or not, but I feel for Henry. I think it's a very interesting idea to explore the difficulties of a relationship where one person needs to be cared for within a game. The player has time to grow attached to characters, particularly if your actions within the game influence them, and it's even more interesting for a game to explore what sorts of consequences a player can incur if they choose to explore other opportunities outside of their marriage/relationship.
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